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Memphis Tigers (2001: 21-15)

The following team preview is provided by Blue Ribbon. For the nation's most comprehensive look at this and all Division I teams, be sure to order the 2001-02 Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook, on sale now at 1-800-775-2518.

Program overview

Never doubt the basketball fanaticism of those who follow the University of Memphis.

This summer, word broke out that anyone could enter the Larry O. Finch Center, where the U of M basketball team trains, and watch noontime pickup games. Most days, every University of Memphis player --freshmen included -- were involved in the games.

Pro players and former U of M players like Cedric Henderson, Elliot Perry, Chris Garner, Penny Hardaway, Daryl Wilson, Tyrone Washington and Lorenzen Wright also played. It was the best pickup game in town.

And so the fans came, first in pairs, then in dozens and, on some days, as many as 100 people would be in the gym watching pickup ball. Some actually took notes and then posted long narratives of the games on message boards, detailing who played well, who looked good, who didn't look so good. Some even called into radio talk shows to discuss a player's personality based on behavior in pickup games.

It was ridiculous in a lot of ways, and the U of M players, impressed as they were at the devotion of the fans, thought it humorous that people were actually putting stock in what happened in meaningless pickup games.

There was, however, reason for some excitement. The fans got to see newcomers like Chris Massie, the massive power forward who punished some of the pro players with his strength and skills. They got to see that Dajuan Wagner's jumper had an almost classic look to it, that freshman Anthony Rice was better than advertised, that center Earl Barron had improved dramatically, that incoming point guard Antonio Burks was able to rocket up and down the court and play rugged defense.

The fans began formulating starting lineups based on the games, began wondering how far the Tigers could go in the postseason.

One thing about pickup ball, though. Games go to eight, by ones. Everyone gets to play significant minutes. If your best buddy is running at guard, you probably get the ball a lot. If you charge into the lane leading with your shoulder, nobody steps in for a charge.

Coach John Calipari knows all this, however, and he must realize the risks of heightened expectations based on pickup games, even ones with some structure and a whole host of big men.

This team will unquestionably be built around a freshman, Wagner, even with a senior, Kelly Wise, who is considered one of the five best players in his league. Wagner averaged more than 40 points a game in high school and his skills will translate just fine to the college game. He is very strong, very explosive and very grounded in the fundamentals of the game.

But he is one of six newcomers on the roster, many of whom will play serious minutes. Most likely, the backcourt will consist of Wagner and Burks, neither of whom has had to play a Division I game, neither of whom has tasted 40 minutes of Division I intensity. It won't be easy, but it could be spectacular.

There are lots of questions this team must answer. It will resemble a team more in the Calipari mold. How quickly he can bring the squad together, and place everyone in their rightful roles, will determine this team's ultimate success.

Projected starters

PG - Antonio Burks (5-10, 185, SO, #10, 14.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 3.6 apg, 3.9 spg at Hiwassee [Tenn.] College in 1999-2000 and Booker T. Washington HS/Memphis, Tenn.)

Burks is a jet. That's all you need to know about the Tigers' probable starting point guard.

In a summer-league game with other college and pro players, Burks scored 55 points. Asked how he did it, Burks replied, "Basically, I just kept outrunning everybody."

He has added strength since leaving high school as a quick but scrawny point guard, and now loves bodying up opposing point guards on both ends of the floor.

Burks won't see many point guards quicker than him, but he will see many with more experience. His challenge, with Courtney Trask no longer on the team, is to learn Calipari's system and earn the faith of his teammates.

SG - Dajuan Wagner (6-1, 197, FR, 42.5 ppg at Camden High/Camden, N.J.)

If you want to irritate John Calipari, then suggest that Wagner was merely the fourth-best high school player in America last season, behind the likes of Kwame Brown, Eddy Curry and Tyson Chandler.

Calipari's scoffs at the notion, and points to the Atlanta Tipoff Club's Naismith Award for male prep player of the year.

Wagner is a genuine basketball prodigy, and many people were stunned when he did not enter the NBA draft. A local celebrity in Camden since he was a sixth-grader, Wagner has a mastery of the sport at 18 that many current pros will never have.

He is a commanding ball handler. He is fearless in attacking the basket, and has a defensive back's body, enabling him to finish no matter how hard the contact. His first step is devastating, his second step is conclusive. He can pull from 30 feet if you give him room, and his jump shot has developed each year. He is refined and is ready for the college game.

Wagner set a New Jersey record by scoring 3,462 career points, and, in becoming a McDonald's All-American, he joined his father, Milt, as the first father-son duo to accomplish the honor.

SF - Scooter McFadgon (6-5, 190, SO, #3, 9.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.3 apg, 24.6 minutes, .398 FG, .358 3PT, .775 FT, Raleigh-Egypt HS/Memphis, Tenn.)

Nobody surprised Calipari more than McFadgon. The first time Calipari saw him play, in a loss at the Tennessee state high school tournament, he wondered if McFadgon could play at a high enough level.

It took two practices to make Calipari realize he had underestimated McFadgon, who had signed with the previous Tiger staff. McFadgon became a full-time starter and was probably the most clutch player on the team.

In Memphis' first win of the season, McFadgon hit the game-winner, a little putback to beat Miami (Ohio). He drained a late three-pointer and then hit the game-winner in the final minute of a win at DePaul. He forced overtime with a three-pointer in the final minute of regulation against Saint Louis, and allowed Memphis to steal a win at UAB with another put-back late in the game.

McFadgon averaged 10.8 points and 4.1 rebounds in league play, and was voted to the Conference USA All-Freshman squad. He enters this season as the only proven three-point shooter on the team. McFadgon's jump shot is just a tad awkward, though it is looking smoother every time he lets fly. Calipari likes to say McFadgon plays old-school basketball, and often compares him to Dave Debuscherre with his running scoop shots and one-handed leans.

PF - Kelly Wise (6-10, 217, SR, #45, 15.3 ppg, 10.1 rpg, 1.9 apg, 1.6 bpg, 1.2 spg, 30.8 minutes, .481 FG, .504 FT, .000 3PT, Choctawhatchee HS/Ft. Walton Beach, Fla.)

Wise seriously considered turning pro. Coming back was the right decision.

Now is his chance to really make some money, though Wise cannot contract the senioritis that sometimes inflicts players looking to be drafted very high. That means using only the refined small forward skills he has and not trying to force a game he does not yet master.

The reason he is a prospect has to do with his speed, quickness, soft hands and nose for the basketball. Because he has never shown any commitment to putting on extra weight and strength, Wise has made the decision for NBA teams: He will play small forward on the next level.

In college, however, he is a perfect power forward. Despite his size, he is very strong in the post and getting better each year and taking contact and making shots. At times last season, the Tigers simply went to Wise time after time to win games.

C - Earl Barron (6-11, 240, JR, #30, 8.3 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 0.4 apg, 1.3 bpg, 19.2 minutes, .541 FG, .583FT, Clarksdale HS/Clarksdale, Miss.)

Tiger fans are hoping Earl's excellent summer yields a most dominating winter.

Upon earning a surprise invite to USA Basketball's junior men's trials, Barron ran and blocked shots and used his little canny post moves to make the finalist list of 16.

When he returned to Memphis from Colorado, he was a different player. Barron always had the skills and even the athleticism (for a 7-footer -- and Calipari swears he's all of it -- Barron can jump rope like a welterweight and he played high school tennis), but he has always lacked the arrogance of a great player.

Key reserve

PF - Chris Massie (6-8, 260, JR, 18.0 ppg, 12.0 rpg, Oxnard College/Oxnard, Calif. and Arcola, Texas)

When Calipari signed Massie, he invoked one name: Anthony Mason.

It is a very good way to describe Massie and his game. He is not quite to Mason's level, but his game is very similar. His body is cut out of stone. His arms are long and huge. His legs are like tree trunks. And he moves around the court with the agility and confidence of a small forward.

Massie also has nice touch and confidence on his three ball and doesn't mind putting it on the floor to go by his man. That'll be OK so long as he doesn't get carried away with roaming the perimeter.

Bottom line

Here is Calipari, speaking in that Western Pennsylvania accent: "Agendas got to be thrown out."

There it is. That is the mission. This is not to suggest any of his players have agendas; it's just that they cannot develop as so many newcomers try to become integral parts of a whole that is right now only a vision.

In Wagner and Wise, the Tigers have two legitimate C-USA Player-of-the-Year caliber players. In Barron and Massie, they have two big men who could start for anyone in the country. Those are the four players upon whom the foundation must be built.

Calipari is talking about seriously installing a zone for the first time in his career, in large part because of unbalanced lineups that may result from the several big men and true guards. There really aren't many swingmen, and DePaul coach Pat Kennedy can tell Calipari how that can hurt a team. That is one area that teams can attack, and it is why Calipari will use some zone.

Calipari will not come right out and say it, but much of his preseason work was geared toward getting Wagner ready to play at this level. Defense. Effort. Attention to detail. Those are the things to which the national high school player of the year must accustom himself.

Ultimately, Calipari's teams are built on hard-nosed defense, rebounding and post presence. This team should have all of that, with the defense the biggest question mark of the three.

Everyone in the program -- staff and players included -- signed a document in the preseason devoting themselves to winning a national title. To Calipari, that means more than playing great basketball.

"My issue is, 'What are you willing to give up and sacrifice for us to be something special?' " Calipari said.

That is Calipari's challenge. There is abundant talent, and more on the way for this program. Last season's team made a nice run to the NIT Final Four. This team wants to make the real Final Four, but that would be a surprise on the order of Florida's march to Indianapolis in 2000.

Memphis will return to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1996, and the Tigers won't lose in the first round. This is a team that should have Final Four aspirations; it is just too young to expect anything more than the Sweet 16.